Flat Bed Scanner
There are ranges of flat bed scanners which along side traditional scanning abilities can also scan directly from 35mm film negatives and slide onto your computer. This can work in a similar way to the standalone film scanners, but it can also use an auto feeder, where you insert your film negatives into a slot which your scanner automatically feeds in processes them for you.
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Canon CanoScan 4400F The CanoScan 4400F is a nice flat bed scanner which comes with the ability to scan 35mm film negatives and slides. It comes with rigid negative holders which you slot your negatives into and place in the scanner. |
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Epson Perfection 4490 The Perfection are a really good range of flat bed scanners from Epson. The Perfection 4490 comes with ICE technology. ICE technology helps improve the quality of the image as it will remove dust, greasy fingerprints and other defects that the photo negative may have sustained over time. |
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Epson Perfection V350 This is an older model in the Perfection range so it is a little bit cheaper. It does a good job at scanning negatives in and can do them quicker than a lot of similar scanners. It has a 4 button control system which allows you to scan, copy, email and turn your scan into a PDF with the push of a button. |
Many people choose a flat bed scanner as it will also be able to scan developed photos. This can be handy when you have lost or misplaced photo negatives. As well as this, it also means that you can carry on using your scanner once you have finished processing your photos. A flat bed scanner may also come in handy if you need to scan a letter into your computer, or you want to email a friend a magazine article.
For film scanning, a flat bed scanner may work out a little bit more expensive, but then it is a better bit of kit. A lot of house holds already have a built in scanner on their printer. It therefore may not always be necessary to get a flat bed scanner and a standalone film scanner may be not suitable. Another disadvantage of a flat bed scanner is that they are quite large. Therefore it would be harder to take around if you wanted to scan photos at a relative or friend’s house, along with requiring more desk space.
